For cleaning toilets and the like, tools capable of removing urine stones, which are precipitated and hardened components of urine, are demanded. Urine stones are those produced through bonding of inorganic components such as calcium phosphate and organic stains such as protein stain, which are originated from urine. Urine stones are stains hard to remove, and cause bad odor.
Conventionally, protein stains including urine stones are physically removed by being entangled with fibers of a sheet or the like using a nonwoven fabric or the like. Alternatively, protein stains are removed by being scrubbed with a non-water-disintegrable brush or the like after a detergent is sprayed to a toilet bowl.
Moreover, toilet brushes are known which are formed of water-soluble materials and partially impregnated with surfactants or the like (for example, refer to Patent Document 1).
However, when a detergent (a chemical) and a non-water-disintegrable brush or the like are prepared to perform cleaning, the detergent has to be sprayed before the cleaning with the brush. After the cleaning, the brush is to be stored, which necessitates washing the brush and finding a storage place after the cleaning, and which also causes concern about sanitation. Moreover, such cleaning presents a safety problem because a strong chemical may be brought into direct contact with the skin of a user, for example, when the detergent is splashed during operation.
In contrast, the cleaning tool described in Patent Document 1 has an advantage that the brush can be disposed of by being flushed with water after completion of toilet cleaning. However, since the water-soluble material forming the brush is directly impregnated with a chemical, the water-soluble material degrades when the chemical is strongly oxidizing. As a result, chemicals which can be impregnated are naturally limited to components which do not degrade the water-soluble material. Hence, a chemical strong enough to remove urine stones cannot be impregnated, and thus a sufficient urine stone removal effect cannot be obtained.    Patent Document 1: Published Japanese Translation of PCT International Application No. 2006-525038